SCHOOL bullies need counselling and more support to break the cycle, as it emerged that only half of victims tell their parents about their ordeal, a report has found.

The report by Children in Scotland was commissioned by the Equalities and Human Rights Committee at Holyrood, which is carrying out an inquiry into the bullying and harassment of children and young people.

The report, an overview of recent research and surveys on bullying, highlights young people being targeted for their race or religion, their sexuality, their appearance or weight and very high rates of bullying of young people with learning disabilities or additional support needs.

More than half of the calls received to a helpline run by the charity Enquire for families of children with additional support needs related to bullying, while Enable Scotland found that two thirds of young people with a learning disability or autism had experienced bullying.

The report calls for better support to prevent bullying, including embedding an anti-bullying ethos in schools, a better understanding of cyber-bullying and creating opportunities for children to talk to trusted adults or peers about any problems.

It also says many bullies recognise their behaviour is wrong and want to change it, but continue because of peer pressure, because they can't overcome a bad reputation or because there is no support to stop.

Other children who witness bullying are often afraid of being targeted if they intervene, or don't know how to help. A study by the charity NSPCC found there was a lack of support for the bullies themselves. "Often they do not want to be displaying bullying behaviour," the report says. "Often the perpetrator is acting out of fear. Adults need to understand this, spot the signs and put support in place. Children talked about having to join a gang to avoid being bullied themselves."

One 16 year old boy quoted, said: "I am worried that if I stop bullying, my friends will turn on me... I don't want to hurt people's feelings any more. I can't talk to anyone at school as I have such a bad reputation, but I really want advice on how to stop".

Families are urged to support schools in tackling bullying, but research also shows that many do not know their child is being bullied. A study by anti-bullying initiative RespectMe in 2014 found that fewer than half of young people tell a parent when they have been bullied.

This is particularly an issue with online bullying. The report highlights bullying within online gaming networks as as a growing problem. "Children and young people do not currently tend to report online gaming bullying, due to parental lack of understanding and a more general sense that the online world is poorly understood [by adults], the report says. "It is essential that adults understand how children and young people interact and conceptualise the online world - one that is not distinct from their 'real world' in terms of friendships, etc."

Drawing attention to the prevalence of homophobic bullying and victimisation of people for their sexual identity, the report says teachers are well aware of it - in a survey 39 per cent of primary teachers had overheard homophobic bullying, while 88 per cent of secondary teachers say young people in their school are bullied over their sexuality. More support is needed to help staff challenge such bullying, the report says, but notes that a Stonewall survey in 2014 found 31 per cent of Scottish teachers had heard their own colleagues make derogatory comments about LGBT people.

The report says the effects of bullying can include low self-esteem, social isolation, sadness, depression and anxiety. Children in Scotland's head of policy Amy Woodhouse said bullying could damage children's self esteem and mental health: "Sadly bullying and harassment remains a huge issue for children and young people in Scotland, with far-reaching and often devastating impacts," she said.

"Concerted effort is required within families, schools, communities and at a societal level to substantially strengthen the support mechanisms that are already available to children and young people.

"But we must also ensure we are listening to and collaborating with children through ongoing meaningful participation to identify mechanisms that would help but are not yet in place."